Carry On, My Wayward Children
by sergeantrosabellaswan
Summary: Fifteen year old foster care veteran Elizabeth West is a natural born survivor. When a freak fire forces her to flee her home, she very quickly finds herself in the company of Sam and Dean Winchester, the big brothers she never knew she had. In the company of hunters, the teenager now must learn everything on how to hunt monsters, demons and ghosts- and how to slay them.
1. Chapter 1

**Carry On, My Wayward Children**

**SUMMARY:**

**Fifteen year old foster care veteran Elizabeth West is a natural born survivor. When a freak fire forces her to flee her home, she very quickly finds herself in the company of Sam and Dean Winchester, the big brothers she never knew she had. In the company of hunters, the teenager now must learn everything on how to hunt monsters, demons and ghosts- and how to slay them. Deaf Winchester sister ficlet!**

"Let's see if there's anything suspicious about this house fire," Dean Winchester said, stepping out of the Impala. The eldest Winchester brother looked professional, dressed in a nice suit, with dark sunglasses protecting his eyes from the bright San Diego sun, and his "official FBI badge" in his pocket. His younger brother, Sam, also exited the vehicle dressed the same as Dean.

"FBI- I'm Agent Slaw, this is my partner, Agent Hrenz," Dean droned as they were approached by a police officer.

"Hello, gentlemen," she greeted them. "Why is the FBI investigating a house fire?"

"Well it was either this or the plumber with his exploding toilet scam," Sam quipped, his face stone serious as he took in the burned skeleton of the house. "Who all was living here?"

"Jason Pettison, age forty one. He worked as a computer engineer for BiaGat, which is a well respected satellite company. Widowed seven years ago when he wife was killed in a tragic car wreck along with their three kids, Julia age five, Christopher age eleven and Jason Jr. who often times went by J.J., age seventeen." The police officer handed them a file, which had information and pictures of the victims.

"What about this foster kid?" Dean asked, scanning over the file with an experienced eye.

Here, the police officer sighed heavily, handing them another file, this one with a several pictures of the same girl growing up.

Dean felt his heart jump into his throat as he took in her unruly red corkscrew curls and freckled face.

"Fifteen year old Elizabeth West, graduated from high school at age twelve, was taking classes at the community college but currently is on summer vacation, wants to get her degree in creative writing and become the next J.K. Rowling," she informed them.

"Sounds like you knew her," Dean commented, his eyes still glued on the file as he glanced through everything.

"Most of us did," she shrugged her shoulders. "The really weird part about this fire is that she has profound hearing loss- if she's not wearing her hearing aids, she literally can't hear anything at all. The fire alarms that Jason had weren't compatible for this kind of disability- he actually had an appointment with someone from Deaf and Disabled services to come down and help his get the place more accommodating for Elizabeth."

"How did she loose her hearing?" Dean asked, a whirlwind of emotions dancing through him.

The woman shrugged her shoulders, her walkie talkie beginning to squawk in outrage. "I honestly don't know, but can you excuse me please? I really need to take this."

Dean pulled Sam aside and took out two pictures from Elizabeth West's file- one of her as a tiny infant, and a more resent one. The healing bruises that lightly dusted her knuckles didn't fail to escape the elder brother's notice, and her makeup clumsily covered a split lip.

"Looks like she got into a fight," Dean growled softly, his fist clenching tight.

"Yeah but why would she run off like that?" Sam wondered as the fire marshal made his way over to them, his face wearing a frustrated frown.

"You the boys sent down from the FBI?" he asked the brothers. Dean nodded and slipped the two files inside his jacket. "You're going to love this- the fire apparently originates in the master bedroom, where Jason's body was found. I'd bet my mother's soul that he was asleep when the blaze started. Also, we found a little box, with melted silicone and wires, in a room on the second floor- we believe that's where Elizabeth kept her hearing aids, on her bedside table. I don't think she started the fire."

"Pettison's room? What caused the fire?" Dean asked, the frown on his face only deepening all the more.

"It appears that the fire started inside of Pettison; now tell me how the name of hell is that even possible?" the marshal grumbled darkly, missing the look that the Winchester brothers gave each other.

"What kind of injuries would she have sustained?" Sam quickly asked him.

"She'd be having trouble breathing from all the smoke she inhaled and painful third degree burns on her body," he told them. "Anyways, she won't last for very long without medical treatment."

Dean took a sudden intake of air.

She couldn't die- she somehow or other survived Azazel processing and killing their mother, and in the process burning their house down.

"I know son, I know," the fire marshal patted him on the shoulder and gave him an understanding look.

"Out of curiosity, where was Pettison's body located?" Sam suddenly piped in, getting a weird look from his brother.

"On the bed," the marshal told them before someone called him over. "I'm sorry- if you would please excuse me…"

"Her file says that she enjoys riding her bicycle- have you found it?" Sam then asked a nearby police officer, who was carrying a bag of severally charred evidence.

"Now that you mention it- we haven't," the man answered. "She stores it in the tool shed in the backyard. Only she and Jason have keys."

"If it's not Azazel," Dean hissed quietly to his brother, drawing him off to the side. "Then who- or rather, what?"

"I don't know, but you're acting weird right now- what gives?" Sam asked.

Dean sighed heavily before turning his gaze to the recent photograph of Elizabeth West. Her hard eyes glared at him, seemingly right into his soul.

"She looks just like what I imagine our Little Lizzie to look like," he muttered softly, half to himself, half to his brother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Carry On, My Wayward Children**

**SUMMARY:**

**Fifteen year old foster care veteran Elizabeth West is a natural born survivor. When a freak fire forces her to flee her home, she very quickly finds herself in the company of Sam and Dean Winchester, the big brothers she never knew she had. In the company of hunters, the teenager now must learn everything on how to hunt monsters, demons and ghosts- and how to slay them. Deaf Winchester sister ficlet!**

**A NOTE FROM THE AUTHORESS:**

**I'm unhappy with how this chapter came out- I'm still posting it so that way I can get this ficlet on the road to greatness! Enjoy and remember to reblog and leave a kind comment!**

Dean growled in frustration as yet another lead came up cold. He glanced over at his brother to see what progress he was making.

"I'm searching traffic cameras in the area," Sam informed him, his hazel eyes not leaving his laptop screen. "I'm guessing she had a backpack or something stashed away just in case she had to make a quick getaway, that, plus her bike- wait!"

The elder Winchester's head snapped up so fast that an audible **_CRACK_** rang throughout the dingy motel room.

"Yeah, here," Sam scooted over so that Dean could squeeze in next to him to watch the footage.

The black and white image of someone in a hoodie came into view. As the feed rolled, the person turned their head and the brothers got the briefest glimpses of Elizabeth.

"Yeah, that's her," Dean confirmed, sitting on the edge of his bed, relief written on his face. "Should we send Cas out to look for her?"

**~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~**

"Here we are- Jason Pettison, forty one, British, COD is still under investigation," the medical examiner told Dean and Sam as he flipped through a file. "Now, I'm not allowed to do this, but I promised my daughter that I would call her- you two stay here _and don't touch anything_."

The man left the room, throwing a conspicuous wink at Dean, who understood what he was saying.

"Dean, he has an anti possession tattoo mixed in with his other tattoos," Sam called out. Dean looked and on his left arm, carefully hidden within the burnt tattoo sleeve, was the unmistakable outline of an anti possession tattoo.

"So he was a hunter?" Dean asked, his voice a soft hiss.

"Looks like it. But who- or rather what- killed him?"

Dean glanced out of the door and saw the medical examiner was chatting with the receptionist, a cup of coffee in his hand as he leisurely flipped through a hefty file.

"He's letting us do whatever we want," Dean realized, biting back a smile. "I like him."

Sam grunted as he took pictures of the cadaver with his phone before Dean suddenly thought of something.

"Sam, when we get back to our room, we should pull up YouTube and try to learn some ASL. To communicate with Elizabeth when we find her, I mean."

**~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~**

The brothers sat huddled around Sam's laptop, slowly muddling their way through a YouTube video, trying to learn the alphabet- so far, they memorized the letters up to G.

"We can fingerspell out sentences to her, I think," Sam muttered, his hand already cramping. "Although, we'll go slowly."

"Hopefully she can teach us more of the language," Dean added.

The sound of fluttering wings reached their ears; they turned and saw their angel friend, looking a bit ruffled.

"I found her," was all that he offered the two brothers.

Dean jumped out of his seat, his face pale as he rushed up to the dark haired man and grasped him by the collar, shaking him slightly.

"How badly is she hurt?" he demanded to know, shaking from some unknown emotion. Tears were shining in his eyes as he fought to control his breathing. The idea of her dying from her injuries before they could get to him was beginning to make his heart crack.

Cas cocked his head to the side, the confusion clear on his face.

"Hurt?" he asked. "Dean, there were no injuries on her."

"What do you mean by no injuries?" the elder Winchester asked, letting go of his collar.

"I mean, her skin was free of blemishes or scars," he answered him with a shrug.

"You saw her naked?" Dean bristled.

"She took off her sweatshirt, and the back of her shirt rode up," Cas explained. "No, I didn't see her naked, not in the way that you're thinking."

"Where is she?" Sam interjected standing and loading his gun with fresh bullets.

"227 Courtway Avenue," he told them. "It's an abandoned building."

"Come on Sammy," Dean said, also loading his gun. "Let's go get our sister."

**~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~xoXox~**

"This is it," Cas stated, nodding at the deserted dance studio. Sam nodded as Dean parked the Impala, his knuckles white on the steering wheel as he forced himself to breath normally.

"Let's go get her," Sam grunted, tucking a gun into the waistband of his jeans. Dean did the same before pocketing extra ammo, just in case.

Dean led the way, placing a finger to his lips as he slowly led the way towards the back alley, where they both discovered that the door had been busted open. He opened the door, wincing as it creaked loudly. Being followed by Sam, Dean was quick to discover a flickering light in an alcove over the studio; after glancing around for a minute, he discovered stairs leading up. Motioning with his hand, the two crept forward with their guns drawn as they both stepped carefully, glancing around on the lookout for things that went bump in the night.

They reached the stairs and went up with Sam on the left side and Dean on the right side. It seemed like hours before they reached the top, where they both saw Elizabeth, sound asleep in a cocoon that consisted of a sleeping bag and a fluffy blanket.

"Come on- let's get her into the Impala," Dean hissed, jerking his head over to the redhead while he hastily gathered up her stuff and jammed it into a backpack. Sam wordlessly scooped Elizabeth into his arms and followed his brothers down the stairs.

Sam felt something tugging at his shirt, and when he glanced down, he saw Elizabeth, her blue eyes bleary and sleepy as they peered up at him in a state of half awake, half asleep. She clutched his shirt in her petite hands as she curled into his chest.

Sam couldn't help the chuckle that rumbled through him, the vibrations seemingly lulling her back to sleep.


End file.
